Pneumatic thread extractor for looms



March 26, 1940.

R. G. TURNER 2,194,531 Y PNEUMATIC THREQD EXTRACIOR FOR LOOMS 3 Filed April 18, 1938 & Inventor 'Rmhaxd fizTurner Attorney I 10 to and through the shuttle eye, whence it passes With these and other objects in'view which will r object of my present invention to provide pneu- In the accompanying drawing, wherein three matic means for sucking this thread out of the forms of the invention are shown, v

path of the shuttle together} with a presenter to Fig. 1 is aplan view of the forward part of one place the thread into the draft of 'air. I I end of the lay having the preferred form of my Picking ordinarily 'occurswhen the lay has invention applied thereto, reached midposition during its backward stroke, Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a portion of the .55 resides in the fact that the pneumatic system is respectively, moving about a fixed pivot 21 suppained 26,1940 v g 2,194,531

UNITED STATES PAT F I PNEUMATIC THREAD EXTRACTOB FOR LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcesten Mass assignor to Crompton & KnowlesLoom Works, Worcester,

Mass, :1. corporationof Massachusetts 7 Application April 18, 1938, Serial No. 202,694

14 Claims. (01. 139 -256) This invention relates to improvements in substantially stationary on the loom and prefthread control mechanisms for automatic'looms erably in front of the lay, the thread controller and it is the general object of the invention to being used to move the thread into the zoneof provide pneumatic means for removing the influence ofair rushing into the intake mouth of thread'extending from the selvage to the outgothe pneumatic'system. I am not necessarily liming bobbin on transferring beats, of the loom. ited to a hook mounted within-the tube, since it At the time of transfer in bobbin changing is possibleto operate the mechanism with one or looms: a thread extends from the selvage into the two hooks located at the side of the tube and shuttle box and along the front wall of the shuttle acting to move the thread into the draft of air.

. to the bobbin. f It is desirable to remove this appear as the description proceeds, my inventhread so that it may not be whipped into the tion residesin the combination and arrangement shedto cause imperfect cloth. It is an important of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

in and as the shuttle emerges fromthe box the fillstructureshown in Fig. 1,

m is slacke'ned due t t e t th t th hutt1e Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical section on-line 3-.3 eye is moving toward the selvage. It'is anotherof Fig. 1 illustrating the relation which the'acobject of my present invention to provide a stacumulatcr sustains to the pneumatic system,

tionary pneumatic thread extractor operatin 4 is an enla d v t al s t n on ine 1 with a thread controller, such as a hook, which 4- 4 of Fig. 1 showing the thread controlled hook will moveto a position behind the filling on transprojected on a transferring-beat of the loom,

ferring beats of the loom andbe drawn forwardly Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section on line to place the filling ina draft of air prior to pick-, 5-5 of Fig. 4,, l ing. The result of this relationship is to'require" Figs. '6 and '7 are diagrammatic plan views no the filling to be subjected to a pneumatic force showing two modifications of the invention, and

throughout the picking operation. Fig. 8 is a detail horizontal section on line 8-8,

h In one form of my invention the thread con- Fig. 4. troller is a hook normally located within a pneu- Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown a matic tube and projected from the latter at the loom frame in having a breast beam y time of transfer to a position behindnthe thread top or crankshaft l3 having one revolution for .35 so that subsequent return of the book will draw each beat of the loom, and a connector M by. thethread into the tube and rearward motion of which the shaft reciprocates the lay. A temple the lay will not move the thread away from the i5 has a thread cutter 16 set in the usual way to draft of air. When the hook is mounted in the sever the weft W from the selvage several picks tube its bight is movedfar enough in advance of aftertransfer. The weft extends from the temple 40 the rear end of the tube to produce a'perceptible into ashuttle boxB containing the depleted shutbend in the thread which will prevent unhooking the S and lies between the front of the shuttle and when thread slackne'ss' occurs due to picking. a binder 11. The usual picker I8 is actuated It is a further object of my invention to prowhen the lay is. about midway in its rearward 1 vide a thread accumulator for the primarypurstroke. At the time of picking the weft W expose ofpreventing loose ends from flying into the tends to the right and rearwardly along a diagpath of the shuttle, but I also locate the accumuonal line from the selvage. As the shuttle moves latornear enough to the intake end of the pneuout. of the box toward the selvage the thread W,

.matic system so that the thread extending from which may previously have been substantially 0 the shuttle box can be drawn into the accumu-. taut,becomes slackened and unless it is removed later. and become entangled with a mass of from the path of'the shuttle will be whipped into threads which serves as aholder to prevent egress the shed. defined by the warp threads 20. of the thread. into the path of the shuttle. The weft replenishing features'include a mag- One of the advantages of my present invention, .azine M having two bobbin guideways 25 and 26;

ported on a stand 28 carried by the loom frame. Atransferrer arm 29 is pivoted on the stand as at 30 and is connected to a latch 3i adapted for engagement with a bunter 32 on the lay. When replenishment is called by mechanism not shown but well understood the latch will be in the full line position shown in Fig. 2 where it will be engaged by the hunter as the lay moves forwardly, the transferr-er arm being thereby depressed to the dotted line position in Fig. 2 for the insertion of a fresh bobbin into the shuttle S. The magazine M is shown merely for illustrative purposes and is one of several mechanisms for supplying reserve bobbins which are well-known and can be used with my invention. For further details of the magazine and the manner in which it is controlled reference may be had to my copend ing application Serial No. 129,245.

A thread cutter 40 is mounted at the rear end of a rod M carried by a lever 42 swinging about a fixed pivot Q3; The left end of lever 42 is adapted for engagement with some part of the transfer mechanism, such for instance. as the depending arm 44. A spring tends normally to move the cutter 4i! rearwardly against the front wall of the shuttle but is restrained from doingso by engagement between arm M and the left part of lever 42. descends, however, arm 44 moves forwardly and spring' lt is free to move the cutter 40 against the front wall of the shuttle to cut the thread at a point closely adjacent to the eye E of the shuttle. Aftertransiertherefore the thread W is severed from the bobbin 56 but is still connected to the selvage, and is held between the binder and shuttle. The cutter of itself forms no part of my present invention and'may be i substantially the same as set Patent No. 1,881,924.

In order to provide pneumatic pressure for the system to be described hereinafter I mount a cylinder 59 in a stand 5! carried by the loomside and provide said cylinder with a piston 52 having a rearwardly extending piston rod 53 connected to the upper end of a rocking lever 54. The latter is connected by link 55.to the lay as at 56 so that rearward motion of the lay tends to induce a vacuum in the front part of the cylinder and in front of the piston. A flexible tube 5'5 is pneumatically connected to the interior of the cylinder and extends forwardly. The effect of the reciprocation of the lay is to create a partial vacuum in the tube 57 throughout each rearward motion of the lay, the vacuum continuing during picking. Reference may 'be had to my co-pending application Serial No. 166,571 for further details of the pump.

The matter thus far described may be of the usual construction and made in accordance with the previously mentioned patents and application. It is deemed sufiicient for purposes of the present description ring beats of the loom the transferrer arm 2Q will descend when the lay is on. front centerposition with the weft W extending from the selvage into the shuttle box B and connected to the bobbin'within the shuttle. Descent of the transferrer arm results in severance of the thread W by cutter 4-0 at a point near'the shuttle eye,

and on the ensuing back stroke of the lay the shuttle will be picked out of the box to slacken the weft W and at the same time a partial vacuum will be induced in the tube 51.

.. In carryingmy present invention into effect I provide means for removing the weft W from later 64 mounted on the stand 69. 5'! enters the upper part of the accumulator 64p and 'jtends to create a partial vacuum in the As the transferrer arm forth in Payne lay.

to state that on transfer- 'WELl'dlY on the underside of tube'6l.

a shoe the path of the shuttle by means including a pneumatic system and a thread presenter to movethe thread into the zone of influence of Y municates with the interior of a thread accumu- The tube accumulator during the backward stroke of the lay. The result of this connection is that during. rearward motion of the lay there is an inrush of airinto tube BI and along passage 63 to the interior of the accumulator 64.; A: screen 65] may be used to prevent passage of threads from the accumulator to the tube 51. I i v Tube this ordinarily .fixed with respect to the breast beam H and: asthe lay moves rearwardly the thread W tendsto recede from. the intake end of the tube 6|. If the tension on the thread {W is considerable. it may move .outv of. the zone of-influence-of the airrushing into the metallic tube 6! before the shuttle is picked plishing this result are set forth herein.

and it is to preventthis condition that I employ] some form of thread presenter, for the purpose In order to provide actuating mechanism for the presenter-I employ-the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and v2 where the transferrer arm is shown as provided with anauxiliary arm Hi pivoted as at H to a downwardly and forwardly extending rod 12 the lower end of which is pivoted as "at TS- to' anarm ll-fastened to a shaft 15. The latter rotates in bearings 76 and TI on the front part of the breast beam H and the inner o-rxle'ft. end thereof as viewed in Fig. '1'

is provided with an upright arm 18. Under normal conditions, withthe transferrer arm raised,

these parts are in such a position as to locate the lBwforwa'rdly, but at'the time of transfer therod 12 is raised to rock shaft15 in a clockwise direction as viewed-in Fig.2, therebycausing arm 78 tolmove rearwardly or toward the This actuating mechanism may-be used for any of the forms of presenters which I will now, describe.

In the preferred form arm 18 is pivoted as at Btito a rearwardly extending rod .8! slidingthrough a bore 82 in the base 60 and extending under the tube 6!. The rear end of rod BI is curved upwardly as at 83 and passes through a short slot 84 extending longitudinally for- The bent end 83 extends into the tube and is secured to having a convex face 86 sliding. along the concave interior walls of the tube 6! to 65 'close the slot and prevent air leakage through it; Secured to the shoe is a hook 81 which projects rearwardlyand has a head 88 soconstructed as to define a-forwardly and upwardly with the bi'ght'located entirely forwardly of the intake rear end of the metal tube 6|. When the arm 18 rocks rearwardly at transfer the head will be projected into the position shown in full lines in Fig.4, the rear-upper part of the head being inclined as suggested in the drawing so that the hook passes under the threadv W and the latter lies in front of the head 88 where it can pass into the bight of the hook. At this time the head of 1 the hook is located behind the reed R to give as surance that the Weft W will lie in front of it. This relation occurs when the lay is in forward position and on transferring beats of the loom, the transferrer arm being down to effect the insertion of the fresh bobbin into the shuttle and also move the hook as described. The cutter 40 severs the thread as this time at a point near the the tube 6|.

site sides of the tube 6!. head 88 is completed some little time before the the accumulator.

. opposite the selvage shuttle eye.

When transfer is complete andthe lay starts its rearward motion the transfer arm will be raised by well-known mechanism not described with an attendant rocking of shaft 15 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, thereby retracting the head 88 and moving the same into The thread now is disposed as shown in Fig. 8 is engagement with. the hook and oppo- Ihe retraction of the lay reaches picking position.

During continued rearward motion of the lay the shuttle is picked and the weft thread W thereby slackened, but because of the fact that the thread extends into the tube BI and around the head 88 it is held against unhooking even though it be slack. At this time the pump is creating a vacuumin the tube 6| tending to draw the thread toward the accumulator 64 and as soon as the shuttle is completely outof the box the thread will no longer be bound between the shuttle and the binder l1 and will be drawn into At a subsequent pickthe temple cutter IE will sever the thread at the selvage during a forward beat of the lay and in the immediately ensuing rearward motion of the lay the pump will act to draw the remainder of the thread into the accumulator.

Repeated operations as just described will result in the accumulation of a number of weft threads in the cylinder 64 and the resulting mass of threads T is able to serve by their entanglement with threads freshly drawn into the tube 6| as a thread holder because of the fact that the distancefrom the intake end of tube 6| to the interior of the accumulator is considerably less than the length of thread extending from the tube 6| to the eye of the shuttle. The draft of air through the accumulator is up and incoming threads are therefore drawn partly into the mass of thread T within the accumulator. This is of particular advantage during forward motion of the lay when the vacuum is temporarily interrupted.

In the first modification of the thread presenter, such as that set forth in Fig. 6, a hook 90 similar in many respects to the hook of the preferred form. is located outside the tube and has a stem 9| which slides through a bore in the base 50. This hook B9 is on that side of the tube BI but it is operated by the mechanism described in connection with Fig. 2

and moves rearwardly during transfer and is then brought forwardly as the transferer arm rises to place the thread W tube 6|. At the subsequent pick the hook holds the thread in the draft of inrushing air and the across the intake mouth of I vacuum sucks the thread into the accumulator as in the preferred form.

In Fig. 7 I show two hooks similar to the hook so, these hooks being designated at 95, one hook being to the right and the other to the left of,

in the latter tending to prevent unhooking is caused by two hooks outside the tube which, however, act much in the same way as does the single hook as suggested in Fig. 8. The single hook 90 and the double hooks are operated by the arm 18.

From the foregoing it will be seen that'I have provided means for presenting the weft thread of an outgoing bobbin to the intake end of a pneumatic thread extracting system, i this operation taking place preferably before picking. It will further be seen that in the preferred form the hook is mounted inside the tube 6| so that retraction of the hook draws. the thread positively hook. The shoe 85 serves to close the slot 84 and prevent leakage of air through said slot. The hook in all of its forms is moved to a point behind the thread and is able by reason of this fact I to advance the thread to a position where it is within the zone of influence of the draft of air. Backward motion of the lay, therefore, cannot draw the thread away from tube 6|. Furthermore, it will be seen that the accumulator 64 contains a mass of thread T which is able to serve as a thread holder of the ends W because of the close proximity of the accumulator to the tube 6|. It will further be seen that the presenting hooks may be located either inside or outside the tube BI and that whatever the form; of the hook it is controlled by the transfer mechanism.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and a thread extending from the cloth selvage into a shuttle box on the lay. a pneumatic thread extractor'having an intake in front of the thread, means to induce a draft of air into said intake in a direction away from the lay, and means movable from a point behind the thread and intake to engage and move said thread toward the intake.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box into whicha thread extends from the cloth selvage, transfer mechanism to insert a reserve bobbin into the shuttle box, a pneumatic -ward the intake mouth of the thread extractor.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, transfer mechanism to insert a reserve bobbin into the shuttle box, a pneumatic thread extractor having an intake mouth in front of the thread, means to induce a draft of air into said mouth forwar ly from the lay, thread control means connected to the transfer mechanism and movable by the latter to a position behind the thread and intake mouth during insertion of the reserve bobbin into the shuttle box, saidv transfer mechanism operative thereafter to move the thread control means forwardly to engage the rear of the thread and move the same toward the intake mouth of the thread extractor.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box from which a thread extends to the selvage, a pneumatic tube extending transversely from the thread and having an intake mouth adjacent to the thread, means to induce a draft of air into said intake mouth in a direction away from the thread, a thread presenter having a big-ht to receive the thread, and means to move the presenter while in engagement with the thread into the tube to place the bight within the intake mouth.

5. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and. shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, a pneumatic tube extending forwardly from a point in front of the thread, means to induce a draft forwardly in said tube, and means located within the tube operating independently of the draft of air to move the thread forwardly into said tube.

5. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle cox into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, a pneumatic tube extendingforwardly from a point in front of the thread, means to induce a draft of air into said tube in a direction forwardly from the thread, a thread hook'movable within the tube, and means to move the hook first to a position behind the thread and thereafter move the hook to a position inside the tube to draw the thread into the tube and within the range of action of said draft of air.

7. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, a tube extending forwardly from the thread and having an intake end in front of the thread, means to induce a draft of air into the intake end forwardly through said tube, a thread hook at one side of the tube, and means to move the thread hook forwardly from a position behind the thread to advance the latter toward'the intake opening.

8. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, a pneumatic tube extending forwardly from the thread and having an intake opening in front of the thread, a thread hook located at each side of the tube, and means to move said hooks forwardly from a position behind the thread andcaus e said hooks to move the thread toward the intake opening.

9. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, means to cut the thread at a point adjacent the shuttle eye, a pneumatic thread extractor having an intake mouth adjacent the selvage, means to induce a draft of air into said intake to draw the thread into the extractor while said thread is attached to the selvage, and a thread accumulator communicating with the extractor and having a mass of thread therein located nearer the intake mouth than said means to cut the thread, said mass of thread to have entangling engagement with said thread and hold the same.

10. In a weft replenishing, loomhaving' a thread extending from the salvage into a shut?- tle box, a hollow thread accumulator having a mass of threads therein, a pneumatic thread extractor having an intake mouth communicating with the interior of the accumulator, means to and a shuttle at one end thereof with a weft thread extending to the selvage, a hollow thread accumulator having a mass of threads therein,

a hollow thread extractor communicating with the interior of. the accumulator and having anintake adjacent the thread, means to sever the thread from the shuttle at a point farther from theintake than the accumulator is from said in-1 take, a selvage cutter to out the thread near the selvage, and means to induce a draft of air into the extractor and accumulator to draw the thread into said accumulator and entangle the same with the mass of threads tion of the selvage cutter.

i2. Ina weft replenishing loom having a lay and a shuttle at one end thereof with a weft thread extending to the selvagc, a hollow thread accumulator, a tubular pneumatic thread ex tractor communicating with the. interior of the prior to opera.-

accumulator and having an intake mouth adjacent the selvage, a mass of threads in the accumulator above the point of communication between the pneumatic tube and the interior of the accumulator, and means to create a partial vacuum within the accumulator above the mass of threads, the partial vacuum causing a draft of air to enter the mouth and draw the thread therein and into the accumulator and upwardly against the mass of threads to effect entangle ment between the thread and said mass of threads.

13. In a weft replenishing loom having a lay and shuttle box from which'a thread extends to the selvage, a pneumatic thread extractor tube extending in a direction transverse of the thread and having an intake mouth adjacent to .saidthread, a thread presenter located on that side of the thread opposite the intake mouth, means to move said presenter while in engagement with the thread toward the intake mouth, and means to induce a draft of air into the intake mouth in a direction from the thread toward said mouth to draw the thread into said tube.

14. In a weft replenishing loom having alay and shuttle box into which a thread extends from the cloth selvage, transfer mechanism to move a reserve bobbin into the shuttle box, a pneumatic tube stationarily mounted with respect to the loom and extending forwardly from the thread, said tube'having an intake opening at the rear end thereof in front of the thread, means to induce a draft of air into the intake opening and through the tube in a direction away from the lay, and means movable from a point behind the intake by the transfer mechanism to engage and move the thread toward said intake opening.

RICHARD G. TURNER. 

